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Someone brought this issue up in another thread.
You may know that a few Oregon Fishermen are fighting to stop legislation that will severely restrict our right to use the John Day River for recreation. If successful, this bill could keep us off a lot of other Oregon Rivers, too.
In the thread "A bad bill - SB298" someone brought up the legality of the permit fees for the Deshutes river. Here is what I believe.
If you read Section 2 of the Oregon State Admission Act, it appears that these fees are illegal. (Use the link below.)
http://www.leg.state.or.us/orcons/admacts.html
So how can they get away with charging fees? Simple. The Deschutes River has never been declared navigable. And the Deschutes River is not even on the waiting list for a navigablity study yet.
This also explains why their are sections beyond the Warm Springs Resevation Lands that you cannot stop and wade and fish and sections where you cannot anchor your craft.
If someone wants to challenge the fees, the first thing they will need to do is challenge the navigability issue. The fees in all probability are illegal based on the Oregon State Admissions Act and many Supreme Court descisions regarding this issue. Consequently, a Federal Court might well throw fees out if asked to do so.
So either challenge the navigability issue on the entire Deschutes River, or quit belly-aching and pay the fees.
Or get ready to support a public initiative referendum that will force the State Land Board to live up to its responsibility regarding the Public Trust Doctrine and the right of all Oregon Citizens based on the federal definition of navigable, to use all navigable waterways for recreational purposes.
For the Federal Test of navigability visit this web site link:
http://statelands.dsl.state.or.us/whoownsthewaterways.htm
P.S. I think the limited entry permit issue would also get thrown out for the exact same reasons. As I understand it, the government (any government) cannot legally limit the publics use of a navigable water way.
[ 07-22-2003, 03:19 PM: Message edited by: Scruffy Bearded Varmint ]
You may know that a few Oregon Fishermen are fighting to stop legislation that will severely restrict our right to use the John Day River for recreation. If successful, this bill could keep us off a lot of other Oregon Rivers, too.
In the thread "A bad bill - SB298" someone brought up the legality of the permit fees for the Deshutes river. Here is what I believe.
If you read Section 2 of the Oregon State Admission Act, it appears that these fees are illegal. (Use the link below.)
http://www.leg.state.or.us/orcons/admacts.html
So how can they get away with charging fees? Simple. The Deschutes River has never been declared navigable. And the Deschutes River is not even on the waiting list for a navigablity study yet.
This also explains why their are sections beyond the Warm Springs Resevation Lands that you cannot stop and wade and fish and sections where you cannot anchor your craft.
If someone wants to challenge the fees, the first thing they will need to do is challenge the navigability issue. The fees in all probability are illegal based on the Oregon State Admissions Act and many Supreme Court descisions regarding this issue. Consequently, a Federal Court might well throw fees out if asked to do so.
So either challenge the navigability issue on the entire Deschutes River, or quit belly-aching and pay the fees.
Or get ready to support a public initiative referendum that will force the State Land Board to live up to its responsibility regarding the Public Trust Doctrine and the right of all Oregon Citizens based on the federal definition of navigable, to use all navigable waterways for recreational purposes.
For the Federal Test of navigability visit this web site link:
http://statelands.dsl.state.or.us/whoownsthewaterways.htm
P.S. I think the limited entry permit issue would also get thrown out for the exact same reasons. As I understand it, the government (any government) cannot legally limit the publics use of a navigable water way.
[ 07-22-2003, 03:19 PM: Message edited by: Scruffy Bearded Varmint ]